Life of Namikaze's Legacy
by TNT T-LAS
Summary: Naruto was attacked by the villagers one night. To defend himself, he is given training in ninja arts by Kakashi and Jiraiya. Watch as Naruto Namikaze makes a name for himself and works in a three man cell consisting of his sensei and a Hyuuga prodigy. Kyuubi is not as evil and he seems. Powerful Naruto but NOT Godlike and NO bloodlines.
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** This is a fic in which Naruto will be very strong but not Godlike and he will not have any bloodlines too. Please Review and let us know how it came up. Read AN at the end.

Alright guys, let's face it. I did a lot of mistakes; rapid timeskips, negligible character developments, and some others. I have decided to give this fic a major edit. Chapter 2 is currently edited and I will post it soon. Other than that, the story will go on and as usual, expect the update in a couple of months.

Those of you who haven't yet, please check out my new story ''. I have done a lot of work on it and I will appreciate if check that one out. It's a little dark than this one.

Disclaimer: We don't own Naruto.

"Talking"

' _Thinking'_

" **Demon Talking"**

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 **CHAPTER 1:-**

It was late afternoon in Konoha and a gentle breeze was flowing throughout the village. Konoha's streets were bustling with people, who were busy with the preparations for the Kyuubi festival.

Everyone seemed to be in a cheerful and carefree mood, except one boy who can be seen running through the streets, wearing an orange hoodie and black shorts, barely five years old. _'I have to get home before the festival starts… or its going to get ugly…'_ thought the young boy as he struggled to reach the other side of the village.

Just as he was about to turn to his street, he gave a sigh of relief, he was safe now. At the very moment, Naruto felt someone's hand on his right shoulder, "Where do you think 'hiccup' you are going, 'hiccup', demon?!" There was a drunk villager holding him firmly. Beside him were about a dozen more people, looking for to beat the hell out of him. Before he knew, he was surrounded by drunkards. Naruto felt adrenaline enter his body as he tried to carve his was out of the crowd, but there was no escape. Someone caught his hoodie and through him harshly. Naruto winced as he received a few bruises.

The angry villagers didn't stop and continued to throw his here and there like a stuffed toy, occasionally landing and few punches and kicks on him. When they were satisfied of the punishment the 'demon' received, they left him there, battered and bruised badly. Several blood spots were on his hoodie. The boy cried in pain for some time before drifting into unconsciousness.

He was later found by an ANBU, who was patrolling the village. He quickly took the young boy to the Konoha hospital and stood by his side till the doctor completed his treatment, so that he was treated properly…and not like a demon. After the doctor was done, the aforementioned ANBU made a shadow clone to watch after the boy. He raced through the streets and atop the rooftops to get to the Hokage tower as quickly as he can.

"Come in". The door swung open as an ANBU entered the office and knelt before his leader. "Oh, it's you Kakashi! Already done with the patrol I see.", "It's not the case Hokage-sama, there was another attack on Uzumaki Naruto.". The Hokage looked at him sternly, "State your report". "It was pretty bad this time. When I arrived at the scene, Naruto was already unconscious. I quickly took him to the hospital and got him treated. My shadow clone is looking after him as we speak." "I see…good job Kakashi. Would you mind taking me to Naruto?" "Of course not Hokage-sama." Kakashi and the old man strolled out of the office. They quickened their pace after leaving the tower.

The boy was sleeping peacefully as the Hokage watched him through the glass with a hint of sadness in his eyes. "Something must be done about this Kakashi" "Yes Hokage-sama" "What do you suggest?" "We should train him in the shinobi arts. I cannot bear to see Sensei's son like this Hokage-sama." The Hokage gave him a surprised look. "Training a child at the age of five is rare but not unheard of." said Kakashi, trying to convince his leader. "I believe you are right Kakashi, but there are several problems." "Problems, Hokage-sama?", "Yes, for example, who will train him?", "I will!" Kakashi blurted out without a moment's notice. The Hokage looked at him a little surprised. "I mean…I am willing to keep him under my tutelage. He is my Sensei's son after all!" "I will see what I can do. I will have to convince the council first." "I will look forward to it Hokage-sama". With that, the Hokage went about his own work, utterly demolished at how the village treated his successor's son. He called his secretary, "Call the council for a meeting, first thing in the morning". The secretary left the Hokage with his own thoughts after saying "Yes, Hokage-sama."

 **Next Day:-**

"This meeting is called for the discussion of the future of Kyuubi's vessel." Sarutobi looked at each of the members' faces before continuing, "Naruto was attacked yesterday at night. It was pretty bad and he had to be admitted at the hospital. What worries me is that the villagers are taking it too far and something must be done about it", "We have already passed a law against the mentioning of Kyuubi. What more can be done?" asked Koharu "What are you proposing Hokage-sama?" said Hamura. "I suggest that the boy should be trained in the shinobi arts, so that he can properly defend himself".

The whole council broke into whispers. "This is absurd Hiruzen! You are showing too much affection towards the child!" shouted Danzo. "He is a jinchuriki. He needs to be trained in the shinobi after some time or another. Besides, you were requesting him in the ROOT so that you can personally train him a few months ago." This seemed to quiet the old war-hawk. "Naruto can be trained to become a powerful shinobi of Konoha. Have you all forgotten who his father was!?" The whispers died in an instant. "You may be right Hokage-sama, but...who will be training him?" "Kakashi Hatake has personally requested me that he will be more than happy to do the task".

The whispers broke out once more. "Now, is there any objection?" Hands of a few civilian council members twitched but a quick glare from the Professor stopped them. "I see none. The matter is settled then. Young Naruto will grow to become a fine shinobi, who will carry the Will of Fire and burn it the brightest." said Sarutobi as he got up and left the council room. Sarutobi had to switch to offensive the entire time but it worked out just fine. He slid behind his desk and called his secretary. "Bring me Kakashi Hatake." The secretary nodded and left the room.

Kakashi was standing behind the Hokage, on the roof of the Hokage tower. "Kakashi, I have you called you for an important matter", "Yes, Hokage-sama". Sarutobi turned towards him and said in a serious tone, "Kakashi Hatake, I hereby free you from your ANBU duties and ask you to be a Jounin of Konoha. You may take off your mask now." Kakashi complied and took off his mask. "I also assign you to take Naruto Uzumaki as your student and train him to be an elite ninja of Konoha to the best of your abilities." Kakashi nodded and let a small smile grace his face before leaving.

The next morning, when Naruto gained consciousness, Sarutobi decided to visit him along with Kakashi. The doctor was doing a regular check-up when they arrived, before discharging Naruto. As soon as he saw his old man, Naruto shot him a large grin. Sarutobi too smiled at the boy. As soon as the doctor was done, Sarutobi entered the room, "Hey old man!", "Hello Naruto, how are you doing?" "I am fine old man". The Hokage's smile faded and his features turned sad. "I am sorry Naruto". Tears began forming in Naruto's eyes. He had asked the old man several times why the villagers hated him, but he never got a decent response. He had a feeling that the Hokage will tell him when the time comes. "I am good old man, don't worry about it." Sarutobi quickly changed the subject "Naruto, I will like you to meet a friend of mine". Naruto glanced towards Kakashi who introduced himself "Hey there, I am Kakashi Hatake." "Hello mister, I am Naruto Uzumaki", Naruto replied in his usual cheerful voice. Kakashi found it very surprising how the boy managed to be cheerful in the circumstances he lived. "Naruto do you remember what I have told you about your dad?", "Of course old man! You told me that he was a very powerful ninja and one of the best!" "Yes, you see…Kakashi here is your father's student. He will be training you in ninja arts, only if you are interested of course." Naruto's face was graced with a smile that threatened to touch his ears, "Of course old man! Ninjas are so cool! I always wanted to become one!" He directed his face towards Kakashi "Hey mister! You knew my dad?! How was he? Was he strong?! He was the best, wasn't he?!" Naruto's voice trailed off. "Did he…love me?" Kakashi merely gave him his famous eye smile. He knelt down to come face to face with the boy and replied in a warm tone, "Of course Naruto. He loved you more that he loved anyone else. He loved you more than his life." Sarutobi was proud at how Kakashi was treating the child, with affection and maturity. Kakashi truly saw the boy as he is and was not like most of the others, who saw the Kyuubi and not the boy. Naruto sported a grin at Kakashi's answer "I knew it! My dad was the best!"

Kakashi and the Hokage dropped Naruto home. Kakashi saw the state his home was in and almost immediately requested the Hokage to let Naruto stay with him. He sighed deeply before granting Kakashi his wish. Kakashi helped Naruto pack and move into his house.

In the next few years, Kakashi trained Naruto to the best of his abilities. After about three years, Naruto learned about his parent's true identity and about the Kyuubi sealed inside him. Naruto was rather smart and understood his father's dilemma. Kakashi reported to the Hokage every month on Naruto's progress. Sarutobi was always impressed at the rate Naruto was progressing. At this rate, he might very well accomplish his dream of becoming the Hokage. Most of Naruto's speed in training came from his ability of creating ridiculous number of shadow clones. Naruto was a rather smart child and kept his reading of history and other subjects in check. Naruto made several of his clones read different books. At the age of eight, Naruto was one of the most knowledgeable in Konoha. He even memorised the Bingo Book. He turned out to be a prodigy, just like Kakashi, who considered Naruto as his younger brother.

 **Six Years later:-**

"Enter". The door opened to reveal Kakashi. "You wanted to see me Hokage-sama?", "Ah yes…Kakashi I wanted to ask you if you would like another student?" Kakashi didn't expect this, "Certainly not. I am doing fairly well with Naruto and I would want nothing more." Sarutobi sighed, "Alright Kakashi, here is the deal. The council had a meeting recently and they came to a conclusion that since you retired from the ANBU and you are a Jounin Sensei and you only have a single student, they think that your talent is going to waste." "But Hokage-sama, that student is Naruto, probably this generation's prodigy!" "Yes, and that is why I ask you to take another prodigy under your tutelage." Sarutobi handed him a file and Kakashi used his sharingan to quickly scan the file and memorise it. _'A Hyuuga…this should be interesting.'_ "Do you accept Kakashi? Neji is hailed as this generation's Hyuuga prodigy." "It's not like I have much of a choice. Yes, I do accept." "Very well, Neji is in his final year at the academy. Though Naruto never went to the academy, Neji is of the same age as Naruto. Sometimes, I think I should have sent Naruto to the academy." "Naruto already has more knowledge than most Jounins" "Yes, you are right Kakashi. Also, I wanted this month's briefing on Naruto." "Certainly, Hokage-sama. Naruto is using his father's taijutsu fighting style, the Frog Kumite. He is certainly strong in taijutsu, I would say mid Chunin level. His ninjutsu arsenal has a couple of C ranked wind jutsus, Rasengan, Shadow Clones, a B rank fire jutsu, Rasengan, and the summoning jutsu. He doesn't have any genjutsu, but he can dispel most of the C ranked ones and even a few B ranked. Overall, I would say, Naruto is mid Chunin level right now, but this year will be most important for him as he will learn to harness the Kyuubi's power and learn senjutsu at Mt Myoboku." "Hmm, I guess training under Jiraiya for a couple of years did benefit him" "Yes Hokage-sama. There is one more important thing Hokage-sama" Sarutobi signalled him to speak. "Hokage-sama, it seems Kyuubi is becoming a little friendly with Naruto. In fact, the fire jutsu Naruto has was thought to him by the Kyuubi" Sarutobi was more than a little shocked at this piece of news. "Bring Naruto to me" Kakashi nodded and left.

Naruto walked into the office a few minutes later. When Sarutobi saw him, he couldn't help but notice how Naruto has grown in the last six years. Naruto now wore a full t-shirt with metal clippings on the arms, much like his father, except, Naruto's t-shirt was black. He also wore black ninja pants with a standard shuriken and kunai holster and standard black shinobi boots. The boy seemed to have grown an affection for black in the past few years. Naruto also wore a white coloured long-coat like his father with red flames at the bottom. On the coat was kanji for 'Naruto Namikaze'. He had adopted his father's name long ago. Naruto no longer held an innocent grin but a smart smile with an air of confidence around him. He had certainly became mature through these years.

"You wanted to see me old man?" "Ah yes Naruto. I heard from Kakashi about the fox. Is it true?" "Of course it is! You can talk to him if you want to!" Now, Sarutobi was utterly shocked. He can talk to the Kyuubi, the strongest and the most evil of all the tailed beast! "How can it be possible?!" "Well, he says that through physical contact, it is possible. Here, hold my hand." The Hokage quickly complied and as soon as he did, Sarutobi felt a wave of chakra pulling his mind deep into Naruto's.

Sarutobi found himself standing in a sewer with about ankle deep water. The sewer itself seemed a tint of yellow and brown colour. There were several pathways which led to god-knows-where. Sarutobi felt a nudge on his robes "Right this way old man, follow me". He traced Naruto's steps silently. They finally got out of the maze and the Professor looked around him, at the abnormally large hall he was standing in. He saw a large two-door steel cage with a paper with kanji for 'Seal' written in it, at the joint of the gates. Sarutobi immediately recognized what it was and felt a shiver run down his spine.

" **How nice of you to visit me, Sandaime…"** , Kyuubi growled. Sarutobi gulped inwardly but kept himself firm "There is something I want to talk about.", he firmly stated. Kyuubi chuckled, Sarutobi continued "It seems you are helping Naruto get strong. What do you want Fox, why are you helping him? What's your plan?". The Kyuubi replied, **"I don't want anything in return-"** he sighed and pushed Naruto out of his mindscape with a wave of demonic chakra before continuing **"I have nothing but sympathy and little respect for the kid, though I will never admit it in front of him. None of my previous Jinchuriki were treated the way as he was. The child is pure at heart even after facing much hardships. The kid is even friendly towards me. He doesn't see me as a demon, but just another fellow. It never happened to me. All of my previous containers were either afraid of me or hated to even look at me, much less talk."** The Kyuubi inhaled deeply before continuing **"It seems the kid is the Child of Prophecy. I am willing to befriend the kid and help him reach his destiny. I am rather fond of Naruto."** The Kyuubi finished. Sarutobi was baffled at the end of his explanation. The idea of a Jinchuriki becoming friends with the tailed beast was extremely rare. He could only remember one such individual, Killer Bee of Kumo. But Kyuubi's voice and concern towards Naruto seemed somewhat genuine. Sarutobi decided to wait and see what happens. He had Jiraiya to reseal the beast if things got out of hands after all. "All right Kyuubi, I understand your concern, but if anything happens to Naruto, anything whatsoever…" he let the warning hang in air. Kyuubi nodded and leapt back to the darkness of his cage. Sarutobi felt a wave of chakra pushing him outwards.

"So, how did it go old man?" "You could do as you please in Kyuubi's matter Naruto. I will not interfere with it." Naruto's face brightened up "Thanks old man!" He stood up to leave the office "I am going to meet my teammate. See you later!" "Oh and by the way, the Kyuubi's real name is Kurama. He only lets those who he trust's to know his real name. Count yourself lucky, old man!" Naruto left a baffled Sarutobi with his own thoughts.

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 **AN:** Sorry if it's a little short, but it is only the introduction part. The next chapter will be the Flashback of Naruto's training. Note that Naruto never went to the academy, so he doesn't know anybody of his age group. Naruto will be in a two-man cell with Neji. Also, Neji, Lee and Tenten are of Naruto's age and not one year older. Please Review, tell me what you guys think!


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:** There were a few minor plot holes in the First chapter. I apologize for that. It has been edited so you can go check it out. Also, Naruto does know the Rasengan. I forgot to mention it in the first chapter. As said earlier, few minor mistakes. Enough of my nagging, here's the second chapter. It will be mostly the flashback of past six years. Enjoy!

We don't own Naruto.

"Talking"

' _Thinking'_

" **Demon Talking"**

 **:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

 **CHAPTER 2:-**

Naruto raced on the rooftops to get to his regular training grounds; Training Ground 7. He was eager to meet his new teammate and wanted to see how strong he was. Naruto reached the desired ground and saw Kakashi and Neji sparring. Kakashi stressed a lot on spars, he said it was the best way of knowing 'How far we have come'. Naruto couldn't help as his train of thoughts took him six years into the past.

:-:FLASHBACK:-:

A five year old Naruto was standing in front of Kakashi, in Training Ground 7, eager to become a ninja he always dreamed of becoming. It has been a week since Naruto moved in Kakashi's house. Kakashi thought of training Naruto a week later so that it will give the boy some time to become accustom to his new home and Guardian. Naruto was already beginning to see Kakashi as a brotherly figure.

"Alright Naruto, today we will begin your training" "ALL RIGHT!" Kakashi sweated at the boy's antics. "I suppose you have been reading the book I gave you the other day?" "You bet Kakashi-niisan, though it was very boring but I did my best!" "Alright, and one more thing, you will be referring to me as Kakashi-sensei when we are training, okay?" "Yes, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto gave a salute. "Okay Naruto, now tell me everything that you figured out after reading the book, try to keep the long story short." Naruto thought for a few moments from where to begin. Kakashi had given him a book on the basic classification of ninja arts and few things every ninja should know. Kakashi didn't gave him a book on what it means to be a ninja or of how much importance is a village to a ninja. Kakashi figured that Naruto is too young to be bothered by these thoughts.

Soon, Naruto began "Ninja arts are divided into several branches, though there are three major ones; Ninjutsu, which is the usage of chakra from will and body to execute various techniques, most of them requires hand signs; Taijutsu, which is mostly hand to hand combat; and Genjutsu, which is altering the human body's five senses to manipulate them in our own way. There are several minor branches too, like Kenjutsu; which is the art of sword fighting; Fuinjutsu; art of seals, etc. A person's chakra is also of various types i.e. various affinities. They are Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, and Water-""Alright Naruto, that's enough. Seems like you are reading a lot" _'Well, turns out he is a genius…just like his Father'_ "Now that you know the basics, your training for almost a year will be concentrated mostly on Taijutsu" Naruto whined as soon as those words escaped Kakashi's mouth. "But sensei, I thought I can learn a new jutsu today…" Kakashi laughed at Naruto's whine "Naruto, it takes more than a couple of years to learn even the most basic ones. Keep patience, you will get your fair share in due time."

Kakashi started Naruto's training by making him run a score of laps around the training ground. This was followed by intense push-ups, crunches, sit-ups and a variety of stamina and body building exercises. After that, Naruto did meditation for about half an hour. Kakashi thought it was important for a shinobi to make his mind strong alongside his body.

The usual hyperactive boy slept like a log after the first day. This schedule was followed by Naruto for about a month. After that, Kakashi gradually began to increase his training. Kakashi also made him eat a nutritious diet other than ramen. Naruto was not stopped from eating ramen, instead, Kakashi made him several vegetables and proteins before eating ramen every time. This drastically reduced the amount of ramen Naruto consumed.

 **Six Months later in Flashback:-**

"Alright Naruto, today we are gonna do something different from our usual thing" "Really! What is it Sensei?!" "Go on and do your warm up exercises, I will show you after that." Naruto nodded and got to work.

After running laps and doing several stamina and body-building exercises, Naruto returned to Kakashi, slightly out of breath. "Settle down Naruto and take any meditative pose you are comfortable with" Naruto obeyed the command and sat down cross-legged, with his hands on his knees. He looked at Kakashi for further instructions "Today, I am gonna teach you how to access your chakra" "YES! FINALLY! NOW I CA-" "Naruto, do you want to learn it or not…" it wasn't a question. Naruto took a few deep breaths to control his excitement.

"Now, close your eyes and relax your body" began Kakashi "Look inside your body and you will find a warm feeling. If you want to imagine it, imagine it to be a blue-coloured liquid. Do you feel it?" "Yeah, I feel something like that" "Alright, that's a good start…" _'He got it in his first try?!'_ "Try to hold the feeling, it's your chakra. Got it?" Naruto nodded. "Now, try to pull your chakra from deep within the body and try to bring it out. Can you do that?" "I…will try." Naruto began and Kakashi opened up his sharingan to take a closer look at Naruto's chakra, so that he can tell if Naruto brought out even a little of it.

Just as Kakashi was seeing something from his special eye, it vanished. Naruto sighed "It's a lot tougher than I expected…" _'So, there ARE things he CAN'T do in his first try'_ "It's okay, none of us get it in our first try. Just keep trying and you will get the hang of it in no time." Kakashi gave him a nice guy pose and Naruto went to work.

Naruto managed to do it in about half an hour later. He called Kakashi from inside the house to show him the progress.

Naruto took the same pose as before and began meditating. Kakashi once again used his sharingan. Chakra began coming out slowly, but surely. Naruto began to pull out more and more. When his quantity was that of an average academy student. Kakashi was satisfied, but Naruto wasn't. He began pulling out more and more. He reached Low-Genin, Mid-Genin, High-Genin and Low-Chunin. Pebbles and dirt around him started vibrating. Kakashi started sweating heavily "I-I th-think i-it's enough Naruto. Y-You can stop now!" He stopped his access to chakra and opened his eyes "What?! But I am not done yet." Kakashi was shell-shocked "What?! How much did you pull out?!" "It was about half of what I have. What's the big deal?" The shock was so great that Kakashi fainted on the spot. He managed to choke out two words "Mid-Jounin…" and Kakashi was out cold.

The Copy-nin woke up with his face wet and Naruto on top of him, holding a water bottle. "You are finally up Sensei!" Naruto got off him and handed him a glass of water. "For how long was I out?" "Not too long. About fifteen-twenty minutes" Kakashi sighed in relief and took a sip of water. Then he remembered the reason he fainted _'Mid-Jounin!'_ He spit the water. "What's wrong Sensei?" Kakashi shook his head and tried to control himself.

"So Naruto, you already know how to access your chakra." Naruto nodded "And I am glad to inform you that you have the chakra amount of an average Jounin…" Naruto's eyes widened at that "You don't mean…Are you serious?!" Kakashi gave him an eye smile. It was his turn to faint. "Oh my god! You ARE serious!" Naruto's eyes widened to the size of golf-balls and he fainted. Kakashi sighed and carried him to his bedroom.

 **Next day in Flashback:-**

Naruto had already done his regular warm-up and was now sitting in front of Kakashi with a wide grin, awaiting his instructions to further his chakra training. Kakashi sighed "You seem exceptionally happy today…" Naruto nodded "Look, I know you are thrilled about your chakra reserves, but don't go overboard." Naruto looked at him as if he grew another head. Kakashi sighed again "Look Naruto, just having large reserves doesn't mean being strong. When you have exponentially large chakra reserves, you have to increase your chakra training exponentially to control those reserves. Got it?" Naruto simply nodded, listening attentively.

"For today's chakra training, I want you to access your chakra like you did yesterday, but don't take out much of it as you did yesterday; just one-tenth of your reserves will do." "But Sensei, I already know how to do it" "I know that. But I asked you to do it so that to can become more used to it. You have to do it until it becomes your second nature." Naruto opened his mouth to ask something but Kakashi cut him "And before you ask why I told you to access only one-tenth of your chakra, it's simple. The thing we want to practise is accessing your chakra. Once you do that, whether you take a small amount or a large amount, it's not a big deal. I told you to take small amount because it takes significantly less time than taking out a large amount of chakra. Once you get used to that, we will practise taking out large amounts of chakra, so that you can take it out in less time. Understood?" Naruto nodded and got to work.

 **One week later in Flashback:-**

Naruto was sitting cross-legged at the foot of a tree, dressed only in shorts. He was in a meditating position with ten leaves spinning on his body. One on his each palm, one on his each forearm, two on his shoulders, one on his forehead, one on his chest and two on his thighs. All the leaves were spinning at a moderate speed.

"I see you have mastered the leaf spinning exercise I gave you!" "AaaaH!" shouted a startled Naruto and all the leaves fell from his body. "Come on! Don't scare me like that!" he stood up and said "And yes, I completed the exercise you told me. But…something doesn't feel right…" Kakashi raised an eyebrow "And what's that?" "You see, your chakra exercises…they don't even make me breath hard. Even if I do them straight for hours, I don't feel winded even a bit." Kakashi gave him an eye-smile "It's alright. It's supposed to be that way."

"What!? Why?" "Okay listen. When you exert yourself on chakra usage and lower your reserves while doing chakra exercises, it puts strain on your chakra coils." Naruto nodded, listening to his sensei attentively "When that happens continuously, your chakra coils begin to expand under the tension, leading to a small but gradual increase in your reserves." Naruto was confused "What? But that SHOULD happen! Why aren't you letting me increase my reserves!?" Kakashi sighed "Because the greater the reserves, the harder it is to control your chakra, and you end up wasting a lot of it." Naruto nodded "So, instead of increasing your already-exceptionally-large reserves, we are working on properly controlling it first. We can increase it gradually afterwards. Understood?" "Yup"

 **One month later in flashback:-**

Naruto was lying on the couch peacefully when he opened his eyes out of instinct. Kakashi was standing in front of him with a bored expression. "Good work. You are finally able to SENSE something" Naruto sighed "Why do you make fun of me all the time?" "Because I like it." He sighed again "Anyway, how was your mission? You are back early." "Damn easy for someone like me" "Pft, show-off" "I mean, how hard can a B-rank be?" "Whatever…show-off" "*sigh* Whatever. Meet me at the ground" said Kakashi and Shunshin'd away.

"So, you already perfected the Tree-walking, correct?" "Yeah" "So, it's like your second nature" "Uh-huh" "You can even do it in your sleep, right?" "YES DAMNIT!" Kakashi raised his hands above his head "Alright alright, no need to hype up. Nothing's wrong with conforming…" "Whatever" "Well, if that's the case…maybe…I can teach you a jutsu…" "WHAT?! REALLY?! YE-" "But before that…" "WHAT?! NO. JUTSU COMES FIRST!" "Calm down or I am not teaching you any" "Sorry…" "As I was saying, before teaching you a jutsu, I have work for you. Now that you have learned the basic katas of the most basic fighting style, why don't we go to the library and you research on various Konoha's fighting style. It's essential you find one that suits you." They both left the ground and made their way to the Village library.

 **Next day:-**

"So you picked up Frog Kumite?" "Uh-huh" _'His choice matches his father's'_ "You know, there's not much in the library about that; just the basics" "It's okay, maybe I can develop it according to me after learning the basics." "Sure, why not. It's your choice." "I'm going to practice it. See you in a few hours" "Sure."

 **One year later in flashback:-**

"Alright Naruto, now that you are physically strong enough, it's time to apply weight seals on your body." "I was kinda hoping you won't say that…" "Come on, no need to be afraid." "But I want to learn some jutsus…" whined the blonde "This is the final stage of strengthening your body. After this stage, I will start teaching you some powerful jutsus. You already know Henge (Transformation), Kawarimi (Replacement) and Shunshin (Body Flicker) jutsu, don't you?" "Whatever…"

While Kakashi was not a seal master by any means, he knew some of the basics. He used his knowledge of seals to apply some weight seals on Naruto. He applied seals on Naruto's legs, chest, back and his hands. Kakashi added only a little weight as he did not wanted to stun the child's growth. One kilogram was added on his legs and hands and two kilograms on his chest and back. While applying weight seals on a child was not appropriate as it could damage the body permanently, Kakashi did it anyway as Naruto's 'abnormal' healing factor more than made up for it.

Naruto was told how to use his chakra to de-activate seals if needed in case of emergency, though he was not allowed to do it without Kakashi's permission.

Naruto's taijutsu training continued for a half an year. After that, Kakashi started teaching Naruto few basic ninjutsus and genjutsus. Naruto trained harder than ever for the next one and a half years and formed a close bond with his sensei. Naruto began referring Kakashi as 'sensei' instead of 'big brother'. It became more of a habit because Naruto spend the majority of his time training. Naruto also came to know about the Kyuubi, who was inside of him and about his father, The Fourth Hokage when he was seven years old. His third year of training (AN: When he was seven years old) was the most productive and major part of his overall training. It was this time when he developed a hobby of reading and knew about almost anything, only through the sheer amount of books he read. He also learned the Shadow Clone jutsu that year, which sped up his reading and training exponentially.

 **One and a half year later in Flashback:-**

A day after his eighth birthday, Naruto and Kakashi was summoned in the Hokage's office. "Come in" Naruto and Kakashi strolled in to find the Hokage sitting behind his desk, smiling. One of the visitors chair was occupied by a large man, he had spiky white hair, tied in a ponytail which reached up to his waist. He wore red and green shinobi attire with fishnet armor beneath it. He also wore wooded sandals instead on standard ones and had a forehead protector with two tiny horns and a kanji for oil on it.

Kakashi and Naruto immediately recognised the bulky man. "Jiraiya-sama!?" asked Kakashi, rather surprised while Naruto just stood there, wide eyed. The mere thought of standing in the room with a Sannin was nonplussed. While Jiraiya was most probably the strongest shinobi in Konoha, and in the top ten around the shinobi world, yet he sat there with a stupid and somewhat perverted grin plastered on his face.

"Hey Naruto" the Hokage broke the silence, "I would like to introduce you to someone. I believe you already know about Jiraiya, my student?" "Y-you are my father's sensei!" Jiraiya's stupid grin vanished instantly as he turned towards Sarutobi "He knows!?" Sarutobi nodded "and about the Kyuubi?" Sarutobi nodded again. Jiraiya didn't expected this. To say that he was shocked was to say the least. Sarutobi continued "Alright, first thing's first. Naruto I have called upon you to send you on a training trip with Jiraiya. He personally requested for this and thinks that it will be a good opportunity for you to travel around the world and get to know more about different cultures, traditions, politics, and spy systems. And of course, it will also be an opportunity for you to learn from a Sannin."

Naruto went into a shock and recovered after a few seconds. His face lit up brightly, his smile almost cut his face into half and his eyes popped open to size of golf balls, "SERIOUSLY!" Jiraiya was the one to answer him "You better believe it kid." The Professor went on "Only if Kakashi agrees of course. So, what do you say Kakashi?" All eyes dropped on Kakashi, who, more than a little daunted with the sudden attention, but managed to squeeze out "S-sure, why not."

"Alright kid, meet me at the North Gates of the Village at 0700 sharp. Got it?" Naruto gave a quick salute after nodding. The next morning, Naruto said goodbye to his sensei and prepared for a long and definitely interesting adventure.

 **AFTER TWO YEARS:**

Two hooded figures were walking on an off-road path "I missed this place" "Me too kid…two years is a long time" "Yeah, I guess" "Listen kid, though you already know, let me once again tell you the reason I took you to this trip" "Here it comes…" "You have to be serious Naruto! The reason I trained you, took you to all the hidden villages, show you their working and introduce you to my spy networks, was actually to train you as my heir, and as the Hokage" "I am not interested in the job sensei…" "Come on, don't be like that…look, we made it, here's the village!" "Finally!"

 **At the village North Gate (with Kotetsu and Izumo):-**

"Man, this job sucks" "Not exactly…" "What?! Sitting here and writing the names of visitors all day with nothing better to do…What exactly do you like?" "That's exactly what I like…just sitting here in the cool wind…I feel like dozing off…" "What?! Don't sleep on the job man! Wait, someone's coming…wake up!" "Who?" "There are two of them…and one of them have…Kage level reserves!" "What?! Get ready, it might be trouble" "Look, here they come"

"Who are you? Show your face!" "Hello gentlemen, I would like to enter the village if you don't mind" said the taller one while taking his hood off "Ji-Jiraiya-sama, I'm sorry for my behaviour. I had no idea it was you" "It's alright, I'm the best infiltrator after all." "Kotetsu, write their names" "Yeah, right away." Jiraiya gestured towards the young boy beside him, "This here is young Naruto Namikaze, and I'm the 'Great Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku, Jiraiya-sama'!" "J-Jiraiya-sama" "Yes?" "Do I…have to write the full thing?" "Of course! You absolutely must!" "Alright…welcome home, Jiraiya-sama, Namikaze-sama" The travellers nodded and made their way towards the Hokage-tower.

At their meeting with the Hokage, Kakashi was also present. Naruto brought Kakashi and the Hokage to speed about what he was taught by Jiraiya. In taijutsu, Jiraiya had taught him the Frog Kumite. It was one of the best taijutsu style there is and they were shocked at the level of Naruto's Taijutsu. Naruto also told them that he currently had five kilograms on his hands and legs and eight kilograms on his chest and back. Jiraiya had taught Naruto two ultimate ninjutsus, the Rasengan and the Summoning Jutsu. They were utterly shocked at seeing Naruto use the two A-rank jutsus with ease. Kakashi though, was a little suspicious that he had yet to see the full wonders of the Sannin's training. Naruto also learned how to detect and break genjutsu, which was very useful.

Kakashi didn't saw the wonders of Jiraiya's training till later, when he jogged around Konoha with Naruto. Kakashi immediately noticed the difference in Naruto's stamina. He also reckoned something about Naruto's chakra reserves. He used his sharingan to scan Naruto's reserves. Kakashi was shocked as soon as he did it. His guess hit right on mark and that's when he learned about the wonders of Jiraiya's training.

Naruto's stamina and chakra reserves have increased by three fold. Jiraiya actually prepared Naruto for the intense training he was about to receive from Kakashi. Kakashi couldn't thank Jiraiya enough. The next year will be a living hell for Naruto. Kakashi planned on teaching Naruto a couple of jutsus according to his affinity, but ironically enough, he didn't believe in quantity but quality. Though he had learned over a thousand jutsus, he only used a handful of those in combat. Those were the jutsus he practised with every day and were his strongest ones as a result.

What followed Naruto was the most intense and horrifying training he had done in his entire life.

:-:FLASHBACK END:-:

Naruto took a comfortable place on a tree branch and watched his soon-to-be-teammate's spar with interest. Naruto had studied about the Jyuken; Hyuuga Clan's taijutsu fighting style, but to watch it in front of him was intriguing. He analysed the fight to find any weakness in Neji's form, but found none. _'Seems like the story about him being a prodigy were true'_. Kakashi dodged Neji's strike with grace and countered it with his own. Naruto couldn't say that he can do the same. The spar ended after a few minutes with Neji on the ground and Kakashi holding a kunai at his neck.

"Alright Naruto, you can come out now." called out Kakashi. Naruto jumped off the branch and walked over towards them. "Meet Neji Hyuuga, your teammate from now on." Naruto and Neji shared a firm and confident handshake, as if trying to measure each other's power through the handshake alone. _'Ahhh….here they go, trying to kill each other with the hand shake alone'_ "Alright, that's enough you two. Get ready to spar both of you". They both took their respective stances. Neji was on his usual Jyuken while Naruto used Frog Kumite. Neji instantly recognized his opponent's fighting style. _'Seems like the rumours are true about Naruto Namikaze training under Jiraiya of the Sannin. This should be interesting'_. Kakashi stepped in between them and raised his hand "Remember, use taijutsu only, nothing else" he said in an intimidating and serious voice. Seeing both of them nod at his command, Kakashi dropped his hand "Begin!" and jumped back.

"It is destined that you will lose this spar Namikaze. Fate has already decided it" Naruto sighed. The huge stick must be taken out. What followed were spars after spars. Naruto won in some while Neji won in others. Naruto was performing slightly better than Neji, but still, Naruto's margin of winning was tending to none. Kakashi didn't interfere even when things looked too grim. At the end of the day, two boys walked into the Konoha hospital with their sensei. Both of them were extremely bloodied and bruised. It was only a miracle that no bones were broken. Even the Medic-nins had a hard time bringing them to their full form in a day. Both of them had to be admitted in the hospital for the night.

In the following year, Kakashi mostly gave them training in their teamwork and the stick got removed eventually. Neji came to know about the Kyuubi inside Naruto and Naruto became familiar with what happened with Neji's father. Naruto soon completed his training with Sage jutsu at Mt. Myoboku. Naruto also trained with Kyuubi's chakra, and with Kyuubi helping him, Naruto was able to control up to three tails without fainting. Kakashi also assisted Neji in finding his affinity. "What's this sensei?" asked Neji curiously, looking at the slip of paper that Kakashi handed him. "This is what you call a Chakra Paper. When you channel some chakra in it, the paper gets destroyed in a pattern, indicating the user's chakra affinity. For example, Naruto's primary affinity is wind and secondary affinity is fire. Let's find out yours; channel some chakra into it." Neji did as asked. Half of the paper turned into ash and the other half turned into dirt. Neji looked his sensei in confusion. "Well, looks like you really are a prodigy, like Naruto."

Kakashi continued "First half of the paper turned to ash; it means that your primary affinity is fire. The other half turned to dirt; which means that your secondary affinity is earth. Naruto's and yours affinities are a perfect combination, it will contribute largely to the team." Neji nodded, understanding what his sensei meant. "Alright Neji, I am giving you a task for today. Try to learn as much as you can about affinities from the Village library, and for now, come with me. I can show you some minor jutsus."

For the next whole year, while strengthening teamwork, Kakashi also taught his team some more things that are necessary for a shinobi. He taught them the art of stealth, assassination and torture. Kakashi often warned them about being overconfident and he was sure he drilled the lesson deep into their mind. Kakashi also helped Neji deal with his family matters with his uncle, Hiashi Hyuuga. Neji came to know the truth that day because of his sensei's and Naruto's encouragement. He read the letter left to him by his father and thanked his teammate and sensei profoundly. Most of his stoic attitude was gone from that day and he became optimistic, rather than brooding.

 **One year later:**

Naruto woke up from the sound his alarm. He swung his head to see at the clock which showed 6:45 am. "Why am I getting up that *yawn* early. It must be something impor-" and then it suddenly struck him "SHIT! The Genin Exams! I will be late!" shouted Naruto as he practically jumped out of the bed. He did his morning rituals and was dressing up in his usual black clothes and long-coat when he heard his door open and someone welcomed himself in his house. Neji walked up to him and sat on his bed. "Hurry up will ya?" "Yeah, just a sec…"

Naruto and Neji raced through the rooftops to get to the academy. Both of them stopped at the academy ground for a moment. "Alright, let's go" Neji replied with a nod and they both entered the main gate.

 **:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

 **AN:** Some of you may object that even after Naruto's shockingly intense training, he and Neji were equal in the spars. Please do note that Naruto is a more ninjutsu fighter and the spar was strictly taijutsu oriented. For him being able to hold his own against the prodigy of a pure taijutsu oriented clan is amazing itself.

As I said earlier, expect the updates to be in a couple months.

Anyways, smell ya later.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:** Here's the third chapter. We know we said it to be expected within 5 days, but it's here 3 days early! It's not like someone will complain anyways. Enjoy!

We don't own Narut...not yet*Evil Grin*

"Talking"

' _Thinking'_

" **Demon/Summon Talking"**

 **:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

 **CHAPTER 3:-**

Naruto and his companion entered in the academy. Naruto just glanced around, seeing it for the first time. "Lead the way, Neji" "Just follow me" Neji lead him to the third floor. They walked till the end of the corridor and Naruto slid the door open. All the faces fell on them. The room was filled with potential Genin. They both walked towards the back of the class. The class whispered as they glided past them. Everyone knew Neji of course, but the blonde was a new face. Some saw his name embroidered on his long-coat. Those who knew the name 'Namikaze' sweated furiously. Naruto and Neji sat on the last bench. The whole class turned back to the see the newcomer curiously. They didn't get much time as Iruka entered the class.

"All right class, settle down." said Iruka while keeping a stack of papers on his desk. He noticed the newcomer. "Class, a student will be joining us for the Genin Exams today." He motioned for Naruto to come forward, who complied. Iruka stepped back so that Naruto can introduce himself. "I am Naruto Namikaze. It's nice to meet you all" "Naruto, why don't you tell us about your dreams, things you like, things you don't like, and that kind of stuff" Naruto shrugged before continuing "Well, I like Ramen, my sensei and my teammate." Naruto pointed at Neji, who in turn waved a hand. "I dislike those who think that they are the best. I also dislike fangirls." Many of the girls glared at him and Sasuke gave an understanding nod in regard to his last comment. "My dream is to become the Hokage!"

Iruka nodded and was about to send Naruto back to his seat when Kiba stood up to speak "How come the dobe gets to give the Exams without joining the Academy! We studied four years in here. He did nothing!" Iruka was about to answer when Naruto said "Well, I have a special permission for this from the Hokage. If you have a problem, take it to the Hokage." Kiba grumbled but sat down. Meanwhile, Neji was glaring at him as if to melt away his existence with the glare itself. Iruka was also given a job by the Hokage. He was to announce Naruto's heritage to his class. "Alright class, there's one more thing I would like to tell you all about Naruto." he cleared his throat before continuing "Many of you may have noticed the name 'Namikaze'. It is so because Naruto is the legacy of Minato Namikaze. He is the Fourth Hokage's son."

There was a pin-drop silence in the room. Every living being present in the room glared at Naruto. Even Sasuke looked shocked, which was saying something. They couldn't believe it. The Fourth Hokage was Leaf's Hero. He was one of the strongest man to ever walk on the planet. And they were all sitting with the one and only, his son, Naruto Namikaze. "Alright enough. Let's get started with the test." Iruka distributed test papers to everyone. "You have one hour to complete the test and submit it to me. You can start….Now!"

Naruto looked at his test, and then at Neji, as if mentally communicating on how pathetic the test was. Then he noticed something the next moment. _'So, they put a D rank genjutsu on the paper….they are less pathetic than I originally thought.'_ He quickly dispelled the genjutsu to meet an even easier test. _'Seems I was wrong…..pathetic'_

Naruto submitted his test to Iruka after ten minutes. The whole class just sat there, stunned. Sure they expected some performance from the Namikaze, but this!? It was just ridiculous. Neji too turned in a few minutes later. _'Seems like the whole team is flawless'_ thought one of the student.

The next test was accuracy with projectiles. Everyone stood in a group, except Naruto and Neji of course, as Iruka explained the rules. "As you all can see, there are five targets. They are about a foot in diameter. All you have to do is hit the targets with five of our own kunai or shuriken, it's your choice. Points will be rewarded according to the distance from which you throw. For example, if you throw from ten metres away at each target, you will be rewarded ten points for each hit. You have to score at least fifty points to pass. Any questions?" Iruka saw them shake their heads and looked at his clipboard.

"All right, first up is Kiba Inuzuka" Naruto mentally noted about anyone he should be aware of and remembered their names. Kiba scored a total pf ninety points, Chouji scored hundred, Shino scored hundred and twenty while Shikamaru scored fifty one points, passing barely. Naruto felt that he could have done a lot better but it seemed he wanted to score only the marks required to pass. "Next, Sasuke Uchiha" Sasuke walked away from the target. Needless to say, every fangirl out there was cheering for him. He stopped after about thirty metres and took out his kunai. He threw the kunai one by one and each kunai hit right on mark. Iruka raised an eyebrow at this, "Sasuke, your score is hundred and fifty points, highest…yet." Iruka shot a look towards Neji and Naruto, which was not missed by the students.

Neji was standing far away from the targets, with Naruto. Both of them were engrossed in a conversation when their names were called. "Neji and Naruto, you two are the only ones left." Neji dug his right hand in his shuriken pouch and produced five shurikens in between his fingers. Naruto did the same but took out kunais instead. Neji threw them with the flick of his wrist from where he was standing, fifty metres away. Each shuriken embedded itself at the very centre of the target. Then, Naruto's kunais came swirling and hit right on the shurikens, making them go deeper. The kunais power pushed the shuriken deeper and each kunai embedded itself as well. The two boys once again began talking as if nothing happened.

The whole class was silent once more. Even the Uchiha's head was down. Iruka was sweating furiously at the display of ultimate accuracy and raw power. "O-okay you both. Your score is a total of two hundred…fifty…points. That's the highest score in last three years! Well done you two." They both nodded and returned to their talk.

"Alright class, now we will do a test to check your taijutsu level. You will be matched against one another in one on one spars. The match will end if one of you forfeit, gets unconscious or if I say so. Remember, taijutsu only, nothing else. Understood?" Accepting a nod from everyone, Iruka arranged the pairs. After a few fights, Iruka announced "Neji Hyuuga Vs Sasuke Uchiha" Neji did a fist bump with Naruto before walking towards Iruka. Sasuke and Neji both settled in their respective fighting stances. The fangirls still cheered, but they were not sure anymore. "Remember Neji, no ninjutsu; you can't use Byakugan" Neji nodded.

As soon as the match started, Sasuke rushed in, finding a way to penetrate Neji's defences. He brought up a punch aimed at Neji's head, which was deflected effortlessly. Neji didn't like playing around, and decided to end this as soon as possible. Neji closed in on Sasuke with a combination of powerful palm strikes. Uchiha did his best in dodging but he was of no match against the Hyuuga. Neji soon delivered a furious strike on Sasuke's gut. The latter fell down and coughed some blood when Iruka stopped the match. "Alright, that's enough. Winner, Neji Hyuuga!" _'He is powerful. He might even defeat me in a taijutsu match'_.

"Next up, Naruto Namikaze Vs Shino Aburame" Naruto deactivated his weight stealthily and took his stance which was immediately recognized by Shino _'Frog Kumite! I am destroyed!'_ Shino didn't show his fear physically. Almost everyone recognized the stance. It was used by Jiraiya of the Sannin and Fourth Hokage after all. As soon as the fight started, Naruto vanished in a blur and appeared behind Shino. He kicked the bug user's mid-section, which was hastily blocked by him, but the force of the kick itself sent Shino rolling on the ground. The whole gasped at the display of speed and power. Naruto was coming up with an attack when Shino raised his hand "I forfeit. It's only logical, I stand no chance against Naruto" "Very well then, winner Naruto Namikaze.

As Naruto went back to his friend, everyone heard Neji say "Heh, you can't live without showing off, can you?" "Nope, at least I don't hold back against my opponent" "Pst…whatever". Everyone thought _'Neji was holding back against Sasuke! No kidding!'_ Meanwhile, Sasuke was fuming with rage. Iruka's voice broke up the worshipping atmosphere "Next is the Ninjutsu test. As I call your names, step forward one by one and present every ninjutsu you know if front of the class." "Sensei, why do we have to do it in front of everyone?" "So that others can see and become inspired by it. Any questions?"

Sasuke performed the Academy ninjutsus and "Fire style: Fireball jutsu". The class was fairly impressed, even Naruto and Neji. They didn't expect someone to know ninjutsus other than the Academy ones. Shikamaru, Chouji and Ino displayed their clan's respective basic jutsu in addition to Academy ones. Both the prodigies watched with mild interest. "Next, Neji Hyuuga" All the eyes wandered towards Neji, who walked away from the crowd to avoid damage. He displayed all the Academy ninjutsus without any hand signs, which surprised even Iruka. Well, they had been expecting things like this after all the previous tests. Neji did "Shadow Clone jutsu" and formed three shadow clones, which itself was enough to startle even the Chunins present. Next, he did "Eight Trigrams: One twenty eight palms" and "Eight Trigrams: Air Palm" on two of the clones present, which made the clones to dispel instantaneously. Then, he did "Heavenly Rotation" and made one of the clone to attack him using projectiles. The projectiles had no effect and as Neji's objective was fulfilled, he dispelled his clone. After that, Neji too did "Fire style: Fireball jutsu" which surprised Uchiha the most. He also did another fire jutsu, "Fire style: Phoenix Fireball jutsu". Neji also displayed his earth style. He did "Earth style: Mud Wall jutsu" and "Earth style: Head-hunter jutsu". After that, he returned back to Naruto, leaving a crowd of gawking soon-to-be shinobis.

"Heh, and you call me a show-off?! Show-off!" "Hey! It wasn't my fault that we had to display all our jutsus!" "Of course…not your fault..." Naruto got punched in the shoulder for his comment. He was about to respond when he heard "Next up, Naruto Namikaze" Naruto strolled towards Iruka and performed all the Academy jutsus without the hand signs, as expected from Yondaime's son. After that he formed a single hand sign "Shadow Clone jutsu!" and about four shadow clones popped into existence. They did "Wind style: Great Breakthrough!", "Wind style: Vacuum Bullets!" and "Rasengan!" Many gasps were heard at the last one. One clone did a quite strong fire jutsu "Fire style: Dragon Flame Bullets!" The heat was so intense, it was even felt by students standing a dozen metres away. Iruka said with a shocked voice "Anything else, Naruto?" The class secretly hoped that Naruto had more cool jutsus. Naruto nodded, "Yeah, I have one more…but you guys would want to clear a bit of space" They quickly complied. As soon as Naruto bit his thumb, they realized which jutsu it was. As Naruto started going through a dozen hand signs, Neji sighed "You can never live without showing off…can you?"

Naruto slapped his hand on the ground and the whole Academy ground was covered in smoke. The smoke cleared to reveal Naruto standing on top of a giant toad, even larger than the main Academy building. The toad was smoking a pipe. He was wearing a blue-coloured haori and had a short sword. **"Naruto, why did you call me?"** said the aforementioned summon. Naruto rubbed his neck "Well you see…I was taking the Genin Exams and they said that to show them all my ninjutsus I have…so…I kind of…summoned you Gamabunta…" **"And you couldn't summon someone smaller!"** said Gamabunta, clearly frustrated. The toad sighed **"You show-off! You can't help it, can you?!"** Naruto just grinned sheepishly.

The whole class and even the Academy teachers gawked at the toad openly, their jaws on the floor. Some ANBU were also attracted by the sudden chakra spike and they too looked surprisingly at Gamabunta and Naruto, not that you can see their faces. **"I will going if you are done Naruto"** He simple nodded. **"Alright, see you later kid"** he roared and vanished in a puff of smoke. Naruto landed easily and looked towards the class. Finally, Iruka decided to speak everyone's mind "N-Naruto, t-that was Yondaime's chief summon, wasn't it?!" "Yep, Gamabunta was my father's chief summon" "From the looks of it, it seems you both are already pretty close" "Yeah, you could say that"

Iruka took everyone inside class once again. He started a long speech about being a ninja and responsibilities of the village, etc. Naruto and his friend zoned out most of it. It was the basic stuff, they already knew it. "Those whose names are called, please step up one by one and take you forehead protectors. "Shino Aburame ….. Neji Hyuuga and Naruto Namikaze" Naruto went after Neji and took his forehead protector. They both tied it on their forehead. "Now, for the First spot. Rookie of the year is…" Iruka paused to build suspense. The whole class glanced towards Neji and Naruto. The competition was between those two. Then, Iruka said something which surprised them all. "Sasuke Uchiha" Sasuke shot a pride look towards both of them, which was returned by a smirk _'Are they taunting me?! How dare they! I am an Uchiha!"_ Sasuke kept his calm physically. Iruka continued "Naruto and Neji had highest exam scores but zero test scores because they didn't take the weekly tests." Now that was explainable. "You will have to report back to the Academy one last time. Come back here one week later, at regular time. You will all be assigned to your Jounin-sensei in a group of three. Class dismissed."

The duo were walking out of the Academy when they heard a familiar voice "Namikaze! Fight me right now!" Naruto replied as he deactivated his weights "Now now Uchiha, no need to get so desperate." Sasuke lost his patience and charged towards Naruto. Sasuke threw a punch towards Naruto's mid-section, which deflected by his right knee. Naruto used his opponent's momentum to pull him and tried to land a powerful knee on Sasuke's stomach, which was blocked, though only barely. Sasuke sled back because of the force. He gave a battle cry and ran towards Naruto. Instead of waiting, Naruto also charged and punched him in the stomach before Sasuke could react. The punch hit him hard and sent him flying a few metres. Sasuke struggled to maintain consciousness as he coughed blood. Naruto stared at him for a few seconds before walking off. His fangirls surrounded him, worried for their Sasuke.

"So…where are we going Naruto?" "To a Ninja shop" "You just purchased your supplies last night?" "Not for that. I have got to change the cloth" Naruto showed Neji his forehead protector "The blue doesn't go with my clothes. What about you?" "Well, I guess, I will to change it" "Alright" The two boys picked up a fury of speed as they dashed on the rooftops of Konoha.

"Welcome to Shinobi Place. How may I help you?" "Hey Mr Takeshi. Well me and my friend here would like to change the cloth on our forehead protectors."

"Alright, Give me your protectors and tell my assistant what type of cloth you would like. It would be done by tomorrow. It will cost about 700 yen each." Naruto nodded and they both went to the assistant and told what exactly they wanted. The duo then paid the shopkeeper 1400 yen "We will just pay you right now, so that It will be easier to just pick it up tomorrow" "Oh, thank you. That's very generous" They left the shop and went to the usual Training Ground 7.

The training started with a 100 laps around the ground, followed by several taijutsu spars. After that, they both created a dozen shadow clones and made them practise tree climbing and water walking, to further build their already low Jounin level reserves. The originals practised all their jutsus, except the Summoning jutsu of course. Then some collaboration ninjutsus. They also played a game or two of Shougi, to help build their strategical mind, not to mention they enjoyed it too. After Meditation for at least an hour, they would both build two shadow clones each. One of the Naruto clone will just roam around the city and one of the Neji clone will try to tail it as far as possible and gather information without getting caught, and vice-versa with Neji's other clone. This exercise helped them develop their stealth and information gathering/spying skills.

"See you later Naruto" "See ya" Naruto fell on his bed with exhaustion.

" **So, you finally passed the shitty Exam"**

"Yup, I had been busy today, didn't get much time to talk"

" **Yeah, it's okay. I enjoy sleeping better than that anyways…"**

"What?!"

" **Heh, just kidding. I think you are strong enough to learn a new jutsu…"**

"What! Are you serious. Let's go the ground then."

" **Kid…"**

"I will bring Neji along."

" **Kid!"**

"We-"

" **KID!"**

"What"

" **I was kidding"** Naruto's lips curled "You really enjoy teasing me, don't you"

" **Of course!"** said Kurama in a matter-of-fact tone **"It's the best! You should**

 **see your face"** with that, he started chuckling.

"Shut up furball, I gotta go to sleep" With that Naruto drifted off.

 **:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

 **AN:** No, we will not be giving Naruto a Fox Summoning contract, it's just ridiculous. By the way, do you guys have any ideas for Neji's summoning. He will be getting one soon. PM or Review us with it. Thanks to all the peoples for following and favouriting (there's no word like that, it was made up on the spot) the story. Please do review if you all get the time. It's really motivating. Expect the next chapter within a week. Smell ya later.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN:** Here's the next chapter!

Skitiro: Your idea of cat summoning is really cool. I will consider it.

drmona lord: Tiger summon being a symbol of martial art is awesome. I will consider it.

Neji's summon will be introduced after at least two more chapters. Look forward to it!

"Talking"

' _Thinking'_

" **Demon/Summon talking"**

I don't own Naruto, but plans are being made to rectify that mistake…

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 **CHAPTER 4:-**

 **One week later:-**

Naruto was sleeping soundly on his bed, his alarm clock on the floor, broken by a punch, when he heard a voice.

" **Hey kid, you better wake up…"**

' _Whyyy…let me sleeeep…'_

" **Remember, I warned you…"**

' _What do you mea-'_ Naruto was cut off when a bucket of cold water splashed him on the face. Naruto stood straight up out of reflex "WHAT THE HELL?!"

Neji started chuckling, which evolved in a full blown laughter. He was soon joined in by Kurama. "Come on guys, it's not funny…" "Are you kidding me, it's one of the best things I have done in my life" "Pft, whatever" "I have something for you, check it out" Neji produced two forehead protectors in his hands. Neji handed Naruto his forehead protector. Naruto's was deep red coloured clothed. The cloth was abnormally long, so when it was tied, it hung about a foot. Neji's was black, with two thin bands on the sides of the metal, which framed his face by falling on either side when tied. "It's surprising that you made it red. Usually it's nothing but black" "Hey, my long-coat is white. I thought the red might go with the flames." "Yup. I am waiting below at the street, don't take too long" "See you in twenty minutes" With that, Naruto ran towards the shower and Neji walked out of the house.

"Oi Naruto" "Yeah?" "Who do you think our Jounin sensei will be?" "I don't know. Definitely not Kakashi-sensei. He will be training the Uchiha. It's an order from the council" "Yeah, we can't have Gai too. He has officially taken Lee as his personal apprentice." "That left's Asuma, Kurenai and some others." They decided to postpone the conversation when they reached the Academy. All the eyes were on them again when they entered the class. But this time, instead of curiosity, it was respect. They walked up to their already reserved last bench. Iruka soon entered the class with a clipboard in hand. "Alright class, settle down"

"Now, I will be announcing your Genin teams along with your Jounin sensei." After a few minutes, "Team 7 consists of Sasuke Uchiha" The fangirls tensed at that. "Sakura Haruno" "SHANNARO!" could be heard from a pink-haired girl. The other fangirls just sighed "and Tenten" Tenten slapped her head on the desk _'Why?! Why with a fangirl?!'_ Tenten was not a fangirl and she absolutely despised them. It ruined the image of serious kunoichi like her. Iruka continued "Your sensei will be Kakashi Hatake" Sasuke smirked at that. He had heard Kakashi was one of the top Jounins of Konoha. _'An Uchiha like me deserves nothing less than this'_ "Team 8, Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyuuga and Shino Aburame" All three of them looked at each other and nodded. "Your sensei will Kurenai Yuuhi"

Iruka started again after a pause "Team 9 will be Naruto Namikaze and Neji Hyuuga. Your sensei will Anko Mitarashi" Naruto and Neji looked towards each other. It was weird that they were in a two man cell. It was not that much of a problem, they have always worked together. However, there was a problem bigger than that…it was their sensei. Naruto mumbled out "Shit…" "Man, we are doomed…it was our fate, this had to happen…" They both recovered soon enough "Team 10 Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka and Chouji Akimichi" "WHAT?! I will be in a team with a lazy ass and a fatso?!" Shikamaru ignored her while Chouji glared, frightening her. Ino kept her mouth shut after that.

"Alright class this is it. Wait here for some time, your Jounin sensei will pick you up soon. I will going now" Iruka began walking out but stopped at the door "Remember, no matter what happens, I will be proud of each one of you as my students" Iruka then turned and got out of the class. After some time, instead of the door, the window slid open and a figure slipped inside the room. Everyone curiously glanced at her. "Team 9?" Naruto and Neji raised their hands "Training Ground 44 in five minutes" With that, she vanished in a swirl of leaves. The whole class began talking "Hey, isn't training ground 44 the Forest of Death" "Yeah, I heard it too." "The say it's the most dangerous forest in the whole village." The class turned towards the duo. Surprisingly, they were grinning "Hey Neji" "Yeah?" "Wanna race?" "You got it" That being said, the duo too disappeared in a blow of wind and a burst of fire respectively, leaving a bunch of gawking Genins in the room.

They reached the ground in two minutes. Anko was already there, waiting for them. She was a bit surprised at their speed _'Seems like Hokage-sama was right, they are no ordinary Genin'_ "Alright brats, listen up" They both stood in attention "As you already know, I am Anko Mitarashi. This is Training Ground 44 behind me" they all glanced back "otherwise known as Forest of Death" Anko released a healthy amount of Killer Intent at them while saying that. They didn't even move a muscle. _'The brats are good'_ "From now on, Team 9 will be training in here. Not in the core region, of course." _'If they pass, that_ is' They both nodded confidently, though they were not sure. "Follow me" she said before jumping over the fence. The duo complied.

Anko lead them to a clearing about two kilometres from the boundary. "All right brats. To say it simply, you both are not Genin yet. To become a Genin, you must pass a survival test given to you by me. The Academy test was done to chalk out the potential Genin. Get it?" They knew about the survival test, they were already mentally prepared for it. After a quick nod from them, Anko continued "Your test will be survive one whole night in this forest, a.k.a Forest of Death. Meet me here at the exact spot at 7pm sharp." They both gulped before looking at each other. "You are only allowed to bring your water bottle, nothing else. Any questions?" They shook their heads "Dismissed!"

Naruto heard his door open when he was tying his forehead protector. A quick glance at the clock showed 6:45pm. "You know, you can knock once in a while" "Are you kidding me?" "Whatever" "You ready yet?" "Yup, let's go" They reached the desired location at 6:53pm. Anko was already waiting for them _'Brats respect time. Till now, they passed every criteria. Let's see what they do tonight'_ "Alright brats, just two rules; you can't enter the tower in the middle" They sighed at that. They were expecting it, but still, there's nothing wrong with hope. "And you can't exit the forest. I will meet you here at the same spot, 7am tomorrow. Oh, and one more thing, the animals here are not friendly. Not even plants." With that, she once again vanished, with the hissing voice of a snake left behind. They both made a mental note to ask her about that later.

"You go collect wood. Byakugan will be useful in hunting. Meet me here in twenty minutes." Naruto nodded and went into the forest. Neji activated his Byakugan without any hand signs and looked around for a potential prey. He saw a rather large rabbit and smirked before taking out a kunai and running towards it. Twenty minutes later, Naruto returned to see an already cleaned and skinned rabbit "That was pretty fast" "You bet. Where's the wood?" Naruto took out a storage scroll, put two fingers on the seal and channelled some chakra in it. A pile of wood popped up, enough to keep the fire going all night. Neji stood up, made a few hand signs and slammed his hand on the ground "Earth style: Mud wall" A twelve feet wide and ten feet wide wall appeared. "What was that for?" "Watch and learn blondie, watch and learn."

The same process was repeated three more times. It made a square room with open from the top. They were standing inside the room. "I get it, you made this room to avoid animals attracted from light and provide some protection" Neji nodded proudly. Naruto gathered the wood in the middle of the room and used a weak fire jutsu to start the fire. The rabbit was cooked and eaten by the boys. Naruto took the first watch and climbed onto the wall, making himself comfortable, setting in for the long watch.

Anko was watching them from atop a tree. Her stealth skills easily vouching to hide her. _'The brats are way better than I expected'_

Naruto was about to wake up Neji, as his watch just ended, when a growl shook him. Neji quickly sprang to his feet. Prepared for the potential attack. They both jumped on the wall to see a horde consisting of three abnormally sized lions standing in an offensive stance. Both of them made the required seals to deactivate their weights. After that, Naruto did "Shadow Clone jutsu!" and about a dozen clones came to life. "We gotta end this fast Neji" "Yeah" Naruto clones sprang upon the tigers with a speed invisible to the untrained eye. "Your fate was decided by us the minute you attacked us! Eight Trigrams: Air Palm!" The lion which was launched in air by four of Naruto's clones by met by Air Palm in mid-air. It was sent flying towards a tree. The collision was too hard and its spine was broken instantly, leading to spot-death. The other two tigers were taken care of by a "Rasengan!" and a "Fire style: Fireball jutsu!" respectively.

"I didn't expect them to be that humongous!" "Yeah, but they were easy, despite the appearance" "Alright, enough talk, let me sleep. It's your turn for the watch" Naruto went to sleep and Neji activated his "Byakugan!" for any other immediate danger. However, his Byakugan didn't sense the Snake Mistress, who was watching her potential students discreetly. _'The Hyuuga is as expected, one in a million prodigy; and the Namikaze, he sure keeps his Father's name standing'_

The other half of the night was somewhat peaceful, other than Naruto's snoring. As promised, Anko showed up at exact 7 am. The Genins had already packed, somewhat eager to get outside the forest. "Alright brats, you did good, especially with the lions. I'm impressed." They both looked at each other, then at Anko "How did you know?!" was the simultaneous question. "How else? I was watching you all night." Neji was more than a little shocked at this "But how? I used my Byakugan several times last night, how did you escape that?!" Anko grinned brightly at that "I have my ways"

"What's more important is, you passed my test, congratulations! Follow me outside." After exiting the forest, Anko said "Team 9 is now officially formed. Meet me tomorrow at 7 am, right on this spot. We will discuss about your training and stuff. Got it?" After an accepting nod from both of them, she left. "So, what are you doing the rest of the day Naruto?" "I don't know. I got some reading to do" "Yeah me too. See you later then" "See ya"

Next day, Naruto and Neji got to the designated spot to find Anko grinning cheerfully. Anko led them to the same spot that where they had spent the night of the test. "Listen up brats. From now on, this clearing will be called Region A. It's not the core region, so there will not be much danger here. Worst case scenario will be the lions you faced in the test. We will be training in here for a couple months before moving deeper into the forest. Any questions?"

Anko listened to their previous training plan and modified it according to her thinking. The taijutsu and stamina practice was increased tremendously. She would often use her summons to get the training done. "Fear is the best motivator" she said. Their weights were also increased. They now sported twelve kilograms in the chest and back and nine kilograms on their limbs. In ninjutsu field, Anko taught them on how to perfect already learned jutsus instead of learning new ones. She also taught them about the usage of best jutsu possible according to the situation, though the fastest way of learning that is through experience. Their skills of detecting and breaking genjutsu also improved.

 **After a month:-**

"Come in". The team entered and closed the door behind them. "Ah Team 9. You are here for the missions I suppose. Let's see what we have. For the next task, I will let you choose yourself. You can paint fences, carry shopping bags, weed the gra-" "ENOUGH OLD MAN! WE AREN'T DOING ANY OF THOSE!" Neji nodded in agreement while Anko face-palmed. She knew this was coming. The Hokage sighed _'Here comes the breaking point. It's a wonder they lasted one whole month; greater than any other team at least.'_ "Yeah, Naruto's right, we need a mission of our calibre, not some part-time labour work!" "What do you think Anko, are they ready?" "With all respect Hokage-sama, they have been ready before becoming Genin." "Alright then, so be it. Since we don't any C-Rank missions available, Team 9 will be having a Low B-Rank mission." Anko was shocked _'What the hell?! A B-Rank to Genins? That doesn't happen often'_

The Hokage continued "This is a support mission. Yesterday, Team 7 went to a C-Rank mission to the Wave Country, which instead turned out to be a B-Rank when two missing Chunin level ninjas attacked them. With two Jounins; Anko and Kakashi present, it makes this a low B-Rank mission for the Genin. You will depart immediately in an hour. Do you accept?" "Hell Yeah!" came the voice in unison. Both were punched in the head "SHUT UP!" Sarutobi handed the scroll containing Mission Details to Anko "Meet me at the North Gate in a hour. Pack for a week. Dismissed" The figures vanished, leaving a few leaves behind.

Neji was packing his ninja supplies when Hiashi called him. Neji entered the Clan Head's Office "You called for me Uncle?" "Ah, yes Neji, please sit down" Neji nodded and sat opposite to Hiashi "I hear you are going out of the village for the first time, regarding a mission?" "Yes Uncle, we got a B-Rank mission to the Wave Country" "Hmm. See me after you return. I have an important matter to talk to you about." "What is it Uncle?" "It's regarding the clan's Summon." Neji's eyes widened at this "We will talk later after you return. You may go now." Neji returned to his room with an exciting smile on his face _'I WILL HAVE A SUMMON! Control…don't get your hopes high just yet…YES!'_

Team 9 met at the North Gate at decided time and departed Konoha. Naruto was excited that he left the village for the first time. Neji too was excited for leaving the village but more excited for what Hiashi had in store for him.

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 **AN:** Hey Guys, sorry to say but I will not be writing for a year or so (High School Problems). The next chapter will be out in May, 2017. I like writing it too but it has to stop for a year. It can't be helped…See you in a year, I guess. Thanks for reading and reviewing.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN:** Here's the fifth chapter!

NOTE- With a Team, I mean Genins **along with** their Jounin sensei and not just Genins.

We don't own Naruto…sigh…

"Talking"

' _Thinking'_

" **Demon/Summon Talking"**

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 **CHAPTER 5:-**

As she jumped from tree to tree, Anko glanced at her Genins. There was a large grin plastered on their faces. Anko couldn't help but smile herself "Let it rest kids. It will take us at least two days to reach Wave Country, even if we hurry it. No point in over-exaggerating." They both nodded and slowed their pace, but the grin never left. Anko mentally sighed _'This is gonna be a looong trip…'_

 **After two days:**

* _Knock Knock_ * Sasuke tensed and took out kunai. He motioned Tenten to open the door. She caught the handle and opened it cautiously. She saw a woman standing there whom she didn't recognize and two all too familiar boys with her. Tenten sighed. She said over her shoulders "Reinforcements" Sasuke kept his kunai away and Sakura let out a breath. Tazuna went to door "Please come in. I believe you are from Konoha" Anko stepped in, followed by her team. Tazuna stretched his hand "I am Tazuna" Anko shook his hand "The bridge-builder, right?" Tazuna nodded "My name is Anko Mitarashi. We are back up from Konoha. The blondie is Naruto and he is Neji" They both gave a polite bow.

Anko glanced towards Team 7 "Where's Kakashi?" "He's upstairs, resting" Anko raised an eyebrow "Oh, no need to worry. It's just chakra exhaustion" "How bad?" "He said that he will be down at least for a couple days" She turned towards her team to see their worried expression "You guys stay right here. Don't worry he will be fine. I will be right back" Anko went upstairs _'He used the sharingan! No way it's a B-rank. Something's up'_

Kakashi opened his eyes when he heard the door open and close in a click. "Hey Anko! That was pretty fast" Kakashi tried to sit up, but to no avail "Take it slow cyclops" Anko helped him lie down again "Tell me, what happened? I'm guessing it's not a B-rank…" Kakashi sighed "Yeah it's not. It was B-rank when I called for reinforcements. When we got near Tazuna's house, we were attacked. No pushover this time. He was the one and only 'Demon of the Bloody Mist'" Anko's eyes widened at that. She whispered in shock "Zabuza Momochi…" Kakashi nodded and briefed Anko with what happened in the entire fight.

"Your brats are good; to free you from a water prison, utterly unexpected…" "Yeah, I didn't expect that too" Anko got up, ready to leave "My team has to prepare. He will be back soon" Kakashi nodded; and then it struck him "Your team? Naruto and Neji are here?!" Anko nodded "You will be happy to see them, they improved a lot" Kakashi sighed. Anko opened the door to leave, then remembered "I am going to train my team. I can train your team too while I am at it." "That will be good. Thanks" "Don't mention it. By the way, do they know tree walking yet?" the copy-nin shook his head. An evil smile found its way on Anko's face and she left. Kakashi was sweating profusely, _'She scares me'_

Anko walked back to the dining room to find Naruto and Neji already having a meal. Tsunami handed her a plate and she sat down. They looked at her, expecting an answer. Anko sighed "Don't worry, he's fine. He used the sharingan." Their ears perked up at the mention of sharingan. They knew Kakashi didn't use it often; and if he did, there's got to be a strong reason. "It isn't a B-rank, is it?" Naruto asked. Anko shook her head "No point in discussing it now." "Who was it?" Neji questioned. Anko sighed again, knowing they wouldn't like the answer "Zabuza Momochi, 'Demon of the bloody mist'" Team 7 shook at the name. They didn't wanted to face the guy again. He was pure evil! Team 9 sweated heavily, looking at each other "Y-you are kidding right…" Anko shook her head. "What? There's no way we can take out 'Demon of the Bloody Mist'! He is an A-rank missing-nin!" "Brats relax. Kakashi will be up and running in few days and I am sitting here right in front of you. And from I have heard, Zabuza will keep low for at least a week" That relaxed them.

Sasuke spoke up "How do you know so much about Zabuza and we never even heard his name?" Naruto gave him a 'Shut up' look. Anko replied on behalf of her team "They aren't called prodigies for nothing. I wouldn't be surprised if they had information about something more than me" Sasuke grumped at that but kept shut after that. After finishing their meal, Anko got up "Alright Genins, time to train. Follow me." Naruto and Neji immediately followed her. She turned back to find Team 7 sitting at the table "I meant you too Team 7" They looked surprised at that "Kakashi asked me to train you guys until he is capable himself. Follow me"

The Genins stood in a line while Anko stood in front of them "So you guys don't know tree walking yet?" "But sensei, we already know how to climb trees. Even small children can do that" Sakura said "Oh, believe me, you don't" Team 7 turned confused at that but nodded. "Alright, Naruto, Neji, teach them tree walking. Just give them the basic idea and then both of you will be sparring while doing water walking. Okay?" "But sensei-""No mumbling. Put your rivalry aside and help your fellow ninjas for once." "And what are you gonna do?" "I will take a nap. Get to work now"

"Alright, so basically, what you do is concentrate chakra on your feet and use it to stick to the tree. You maintain a continuous flow while doing it. Too little and you won't stick; too much and the bark will break, pushing you away. This exercise helps you too improve your chakra control and builds your reserves." Naruto explained. He then signalled Neji, who in turn walked towards and tree and showed Team 7 practically. They openly gawked at him. Neji in turn smirked, clearly enjoying the looks he got. Naruto continued "Use a kunai to mark the highest point you reach. And also, I prefer a running start"

Neji walked down from his position towards his fellow Genins. He activated his Byakugan and eyed Team 7. "So, what do you think?" Naruto asked. Neji deactivated his Byakugan. He looked towards Sasuke and Tenten "It will be tough for both of you, especially you Sasuke. Sakura will have an easy time doing it. I wouldn't be surprised if she did it on her first try" Sakura cheered while Sasuke growled "Why do you think me, an Uchiha will not be able to do it?" Naruto answered "Simple, You have the largest chakra reserves than anyone else on your team, while Sakura has a tiny reserve. Large reserves takes intense practise to be controlled, whereas tiny reserves are much easier to control." Sakura hung her head "Don't worry Sakura, you can build your reserves with this exercise in no time" Naruto tried to cheer her up.

Sasuke looked satisfied "I knew it, no one could beat an Uchiha. I bet I have at least double chakra than you Hyuuga" They chuckled "What's so funny?" Naruto said "Neji and I have almost equal reserves, mine being slightly larger. The thing is, your reserves are almost one third of Neji's, if not less. Nonetheless, we got our own training to do. Call Anko sensei when you are done." With that, Team 9 went towards the river, leaving behind three Genins openly gawking at them. There was only one combined thought on Team 7's mind _'What the Hell!'_

Naruto and Neji both got in their respective stances. Standing on water while sparring turned out to be a great exercise for both of them. "What's up with you Neji? Too happy for getting out of the village for first time?" "Yeah, that and one more thing" "What?" "When I was about to leave, Uncle Hiashi called me. He said to meet him once I get back. I think he has a jutsu or something for me." "Cool! Maybe a clan technique or maybe…a summoning contract!" "I really do hope so. Few days earlier I was checking out the clan history and there was a reference to tiger, lion, cats and all summons used by the Hyuugas. I hope I get one of those…" "Stop the day-dreaming. We are in a spar." "And I am gonna kick your ass!" Naruto laughed, "I said stop day-dreaming already!" They both turned off their weight seals and charged towards each other.

Anko was sitting at the dinner table when the door opened and five Genins entered the house. All them were a complete mess, bruised, battered and sweaty. Sakura helped Tenten and Sasuke walk, while Naruto and Neji somehow managed themselves. They all freshened up and came downstairs for dinner. Tsunami handed them their plates while they sat. The meal was eaten in silence until Inari spoke up "Why are you trying to defeat Gato? No one can kill him. You will all die!" Neji spoke up "Don't worry about it Inari. You ever heard about heroes? We are the heroes and Gato will be defeated" his voice calm and cheerful. Inari slammed his hands on the table, clearly angry "You don't get it do you? There's no such things as heroes! You will all be killed! Gato will kill you all! You don't know what pain is! YOU KNOW NOTHING!"

"Shut up" it was Naruto who spoke this time "Everyone have their share of pain. You think you are the only one who has suffered?! My parents died the day I was born! My whole village hated me! They chased and beat me right after I learned to walk! I had no home, no food to survive! YOU don't know what real pain is! You coward! You-" Naruto felt a hand on his shoulder. Neji silently signalled him to stop. Anko and Kakashi lowered their heads at the mention of Naruto's childhood. Team 7 was shocked, they hadn't imagine Naruto's past to be like this. How could anyone be sane after going through all that?! Naruto stood up and dashed out of the house. They all turned towards Anko "It's ok, leave him alone. He will stroll back eventually" Inari too stood up and ran towards his room sulking. Team 7 turned towards Kakashi. "Is it true? Everything Naruto said?" asked Sasuke. Kakashi nodded "Yep. It's not even half of it. Naruto skipped the worst parts, probably because of Inari. When Naruto turned five, I couldn't tolerate all the things that were happening to Sensei's son. I took him to my house after a serious incident. He then moved out of my house after a few years." Team 7 nodded slowly. To say this was shocking, would be a huge understatement.

"I am sorry for Inari's behaviour. He had a lot lately, since Kaiza died…" Kakashi spoke up "Who's Kaiza?" Tazuna told them everything about Kaiza and how he died. Inari did have a rough childhood. Later that night, Kakashi walked into Inari's room. "Is it true what Naruto said?" Inari said between sulks "Yeah, all of it." "Then, how come he doesn't cry? Doesn't he feel sad or angry?" "He did cry a lot at the beginning. My guess is that he stopped crying and decided to do something about it" Kakashi left and Inari vowed that he will never cry again and stop acting like a coward.

"I am very sorry Anko-san but we don't have enough rooms to accommodate all of you…" "It's ok Tsunami-san, me and my team will camp outside." Tsunami nodded and left. "Neji!" "Yes sensei?" "Gather your and Naruto's luggage, we are camping outside" "WHA-" Anko's glare quickly shut him and Neji got to work _'That bastard! He left on purpose!'_

Anko and Neji set up the tent not too far from the house. Neji searched for Naruto using his Byakugan. He was already drooling on a tree branch when they found him. Anko threw a pebble on his head. Naruto fell from the tree because of the surprising force of the pebble "Oww! What was that for?!" "Shut up sleepy head and get to the tent. I won't ask twice." Naruto stood up in full attention "Yes sensei!" Neji grinned and Naruto scowled at him.

Naruto woke up early in the morning. He glanced towards his teammates, who were still asleep. He decided to take a walk towards the campo full of herbs and flowers he had discovered the other night. Naruto was strolling casually when he saw a girl picking some herbs "Hey, who are you?" The girl visibly tensed at this. She controlled her emotions dexterously, but Naruto caught her little action. "Hey, I am picking some herbs for a friend. You are…" "I am Naruto. I am a ninja, from Konoha" "Yes, I can see that." "Mind if I help you?" "Sure, I appreciate it"

"Hey Naruto" "Yeah?" "Do you have someone you care for?" Naruto looked towards her "Huh?" "I believe that if you have someone to protect and care for, your strength increases out of determination" Naruto thought about and replied "Yeah, I do have precious people" the girl nodded "You do realize that I am a boy" "WHAT?!" He chuckled and got back to work. When the boy was leaving, Naruto took out a kunai in insane speed and kept it on the boy's neck. He noticed the latter was too holding a senbon on Naruto's neck.

' _His speed! He is almost as fast as me!'_ "Now now, we don't need to do this. I just want you to deliver a message to Zabuza, that's all" The said boy growled but lowered his weapon a little nonetheless "What do you want with Zabuza-sama?!" "Just tell him that he can consider joining Konoha. As far as I know, a missing ninja can join a village if the village permits and Konoha will whole-heartedly accept a strong shinobi like him. You both must be financially weak to work under a scum like Gato and I know you must be tired from years of running. Joining Konoha will help you become financially stable." The boy's eyes widened at Naruto's offer. They did consider this option in the past before, but they assumed that no village will be willing to accept them.

"Thank you Naruto. I will see what I can do" Naruto nodded as the boy got up went away. Then it struck him "Hey! At least tell me your name!" Naruto yelled "It's Haku" said the boy over his shoulder.

When Haku vanished from sight, a figure jumped from the tree branch she was standing in "I know sensei, I should have discussed about the offer with you, but, it just felt right at the moment, so…" "It's alright Naruto, I was thinking along the same lines anyway. Come on, breakfast's ready." "Yes, Anko-sensei"

 **Few days later:-**

"Zabuza will most likely to be back today at the bridge. My guess is that he will bring that fake hunter-nin too. What do you say Anko?" "Yep, you are right. Naruto and Neji are already exhausted from yesterday's training. Though they will be up soon, I suggest we leave them here to guard Tsunami and Inari and we take your team with us to the bridge." "Yeah, sounds like a good plan." "Alright, it's decided then." Kakashi nodded and Anko left the room.

"Team 7!" All the three Genins stiffened "Yes sensei!" _'Seems like my discipline training is working! Heh heh heh'_ "You all are coming with me and Kakashi to the bridge. Get ready. We will leave with Tazuna in half an hour." "Yes sensei!"

 **An hour later:-**

Anko and Team 7 were on the bridge, all of them on full alert. The Genins checked and then double-checked their equipment, clearly showing the signs of nervousness. "Remember, don't go for the kill even if you have the chance. We have to convince them to become our allies." Anko instructed. The Genins nodded and got back to checking their equipment. The Jounins simply sighed.

Naruto was sleeping soundly when Neji woke him up "Come on, wake up! We have a situation here." "Then *yawn* deal with it" Neji sighed "The house was attacked" Naruto quickly sprang to his feet "What?! Where are they? Why didn't you wake me up?! Why didn't I wake up?!" "Calm down. Just a couple of bandits. I took care of them. Team 7 and Anko-sensei already left." "Come on, let's go then." Neji nodded. They both left a couple of shadow clones each to guard the house and went towards the bridge at a medium pace.

' _This fog…something's not right about it…'_ Anko thought as she glanced towards Kakashi. He gave her a yeah-I-know look and the Jounins immediately went on guard "Sasuke, Sakura, Tenten! Be on guard, it's gonna start." Kakashi barked orders and the Genin immediately took out a kunai each. Zabuza came out of the fog casually walking towards the Jounins. "Backup huh? I have mine too!" he said and the familiar hunter-nin came out of the fog. "Where's that brat?" asked Zabuza "Who?" said the copy-nin "The blonde one who made me an offer of joining Konoha. Where is he?" "He is at the house." "Too bad, I wanted to see him myself" "What did you think about the offer?" "Since I have nothing to lose, I will join Konoha…" the Konoha shinobi relaxed at this. However, Zabuza continued "…If you all are able to defeat me, that is" "What!?" asked Kakashi "That's the way it works. If I will work for some village for the rest of my life, it will have to earn my respect. Do you agree?" Kakashi nodded and lifted up his Hitai-ate to reveal the sharingan. Anko too took out a kunai and got ready. Zabuza took out his sword "Haku, don't do anything. This fight is between me and these guys" Haku nodded. Zabuza took off at insane speed towards Kakashi "Let's begin!"

"I hope we are not too late" said Naruto "Yeah me too" said Neji as they both increased their pace.

Kakashi blocked the initial horizontal strike from Zabuza with a kunai, though he was thrown back from the raw power behind the hit. Anko rushed in to engage Zabuza in close combat, each of them blocking and countering the other's attack. Kakashi rushed in too and with his flawless teamwork with Anko, they easily dominated the match. Zabuza jumped back, out of the Konoha ninjas' vision and formed a single hand-sign "Water style: Water Clone Jutsu" he whispered. A water clone came into existence and went towards the opponents to stall for time, as the real Zabuza began a long series of hand signs. The water clone was dissipated quickly, but Zabuza was already done by then "Water style: Water Typhoon Jutsu!" A large and aggressive typhoon rose between Zabuza and Konoha ninjas and rushed towards the latter with sheer destructive force. "Earth Style: Mud Wall!" yelled Kakashi, though he doubted that he could stop the jutsu. The mud wall broke and the Jounins barely dodged the violent attack when Zabuza rushed towards them. He swung his sword violently, but his opponents were fast.

The battle continued before Kakashi jumped back, leaving Anko alone with Zabuza. Anko understood his intentions and did her best to keep 'Demon of the Hidden Mist' busy. Kakashi entered the battle after a few seconds and joined Anko. Zabuza felt a slight tremor under his feet. He understood the opponents' strategy and swung his sword towards Kakashi, with all the strength he could muster. Though Kakashi's block was perfect, the sheer force behind the attack was too much and he popped away _'A Shadow Clone. Hmm, somewhat expected'_ The tremor increased and Zabuza jumped just in time to avoid Kakashi's arm getting hold of his leg _'Heh, Earth style: Head-hunter Jutsu. He has to do better than that to get me!'_

When Zabuza was in mid-air, another Kakashi jumped at him. Zabuza tried to swing his sword but it was of no use. Kakashi decked under the strike and caught Zabuza's arm. The clone dissipated and Zabuza's whole body was shook with the electricity that Kakashi's clone passed _'What?! A lightning clone?!'_ Anko quickly took advantage of her opponent's momentary paralysis "Striking Shadow Snakes!" A group of snakes shot from her sleeves and strangled Zabuza. He fell on the ground with a thud. Kakashi got out from the ground and held a kunai at his throat "We win" he said with his signature eye smile. Zabuza sighed "Alright, you guys win. Me and Haku will join Konoha as promised." Kakashi removed the kunai and Anko withdrew her snakes.

Kakashi extended his hand towards Zabuza, who accepted it and got up. They both shook hands with him and Haku. The Genins sighed, counting themselves lucky to have witnessed such a battle _'So this is how Jounins fight. They are on a whole new level'_ thought Sasuke. _'So that's why Kakashi-sensei pressure us for teamwork so much'_ were the thought of Sakura and Tenten. Well, Tenten had one another thought _'That blade…The Throat Cleaver…It's amazing!'_

Suddenly, a few kunais were thrown at Zabuza and Haku. Naruto and Neji landed and both of them yelled in unison "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" a dozen clones were made by each of them, ready to charge "Give the orders Anko-sensei!" shouted Naruto "Yeah, we are ready!" said Neji. All of them stared at the duo as if they grew another head. "Uh…Naruto?" said Kakashi "Yes sensei!" "You…might be a little late…the fight's already over. Zabuza and Haku already agreed to join Konoha…" "WHAT?!" they both yelled. All of them burst out laughing, leaving two very embarrassed Genins in their own demise. Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck "Is…that so? Heh" Neji gave a sheepish laugh "We didn't know…"

Zabuza walked towards Naruto, extending his hand "Are you the kid who offered me?" Naruto nodded, shaking hands with Zabuza "Yeah, I am Naruto Namikaze. Nice to meet ya" Zabuza's eyes widened "Namikaze?! As in-" "As in the Yondaime. I'm his son" Naruto completed. Zabuza nodded. When he was about to say something, they heard several footsteps and turned their heads towards the start of the bridge. There, Gato was standing along with about a hundred men, grinning like a madman.

Gato's grin left immediately and he visibly paled after seeing Zabuza. "W-What?! H-How are you still a-alive?! You should be dead!" Zabuza laughed "I am sorry to disappoint you, I knew you would be betray me! I am an official Leaf ninja now!" "Well, not official…we still need Hokage's approval…" Kakashi said in a low voice. Zabuza gave him an irritated shut-up look and the cyclops complied. Gato grit his teeth "It doesn't matter! Go! Kill them! All of them!" His men hesitated for a second , but dashed forward. Naruto and Neji looked at Anko expectantly, giving her the puppy eyes. Anko sighed "Alright, Neji, Naruto. Go take care of them. Make it quick." Just as they were about to leap forwards, they were stopped by Zabuza's sword "Do whatever you want brats, just leave Gato to me" They both nodded and the three ninjas leapt forward at ferocious speed.

As soon as Zabuza reached the crowd, his overgrown butter-spreader got to work, slicing through the crowd, carving a straight path towards Gato. As soon as Zabuza passed the crowd, Naruto and Neji quickly began going through hand-signs. Neji finished first "Fire style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" A dozen fireballs erupted. Naruto finished his hand-signs a second later "Wind style: Air Bullets!" Naruto too produced a dozen bullets. Each air bullet combined with each fire bullet, giving it ferocious speed and destructive abilities. Everyone except Kakashi and Anko gasped at the display of ultimate teamwork by the most powerful Genins of Konoha. _'First the Jounins and then the Genins. Just how the hell Konoha produces teamwork like that?!'_ thought Zabuza and Haku.

The combination ninjutsu rained on the enemy, bringing destruction and death immediately. The enemies who luckily survived were killed by a quick "Shadow Shuriken Jutsu!" Tenten and Sakura turned their heads away from the massacre "Don't look away. You are all ninja now, and killing is part of the job." Said Kakashi. "B-But sensei, how are those two able to kill so easily?! Don't they feel bad?!" asked Tenten. Kakashi sighed "You have to do it eventually. The only way to do it is shut off your emotions at the time." They both nodded in understanding "Besides, they both have already seen people die. Death is no stranger to them." Both nodded again "And if that's not enough, they are the students of the most sadistic woman in whole Konoha" Kakashi chuckled at his own 'smart' joke. Anko looked towards him, her hair shading her eyes and giving him an evil smirk "WHAT did you say Hatake?" she said cheerfully, perhaps much too cheerfully. Kakashi paled, immediately regretting what he just said "N-N-Nothing…Look, Gato's dead!" he said, effectively diverting the attention "I will get you when we reach Konoha. You better watch your back" she smiled. Team 7 gulped, even Sasuke, considering the amount of Killer Intent they faced.

Zabuza gave his blade a quick swung and Gato's head left his torso. He turned towards his new comrades "Let's go" They all nodded. Kakashi, who was still mission in-charge said "We will depart once the bridge is complete. It's gonna take at least a couple of days." He looked towards Zabuza and Haku "So, you both have a few days to gather your belongings. Meet me at the bridge after three days, 7 am sharp" They both nodded and were about to leave when almost the whole village arrived in a mob, lead by Inari, armed with bows, sharpened sticks and even brooms. "No one threatens our village and live with it! Let's show them our power!" shouted Inari in enthusiasm. They then looked towards the ninja and then towards the several bodies and then towards Gato's fallen head. All of them sighed. Naruto walked to Inari and put a hand on his shoulders "It's okay Inari. I am proud of you, to show such courage." Inari nodded, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. Seeing him, Naruto too began feeling teary. "This is bad!" shouted Inari "I promised I would never cry again! But now, Gato died and the Wave Country will finally be its old self…" "It's okay Inari. It's alright to cry when you are happy!" With that, they both began crying Anime tears and everyone else just laughed at their antics.

 **Three days later:**

The bridge was completed without any more hurdles and Zabuza, Haku, as well as Kakashi and Anko and their team were taking their leaves from the Wave Country. The whole village had come to see off the Heroes who saved them and their country and the team left the country with genuine happiness. Kakashi had already sent a mission report directly to the Hokage in advance. The Hokage had approved of Zabuza and Haku joining the Leaf shinobi forces.

"Now that the bridge is completed, have you thought about a name yet, father?" asked Tsunami "Yes, I have. Let's name it 'The Great Naruto Bridge'! What do you guys say?" said Tazuna. The crowd cheered and Tazuna knew he chose the right name.

 **:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

 **AN:** Hey! Turns out that I have enough time to take out a chapter in every two months! I know it's nowhere near my previous speed but still, it's better than waiting for a whole year! See you after another few months then. Smell ya later.


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